The Ties That Bind
by Amarielah
Summary: The Dante of another world has targeted Edward, and he finds himself the subject of a rather cruel experiment. Crossover: FMA, SG:A, SG:SG1
1. Chapter 1

The Ties That Bind

Summary: The Dante of another world has targeted Edward, and he finds himself the subject of a rather cruel experiment. (Crossover FMA/SG: A/SG: SG-1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Stargate: SG-1 or Stargate: Atlantis.

A/N: This was supposed to be a one-shot, but somehow in the works it evolved into the first chapter of a serial. Lots of angst and confusion abound. Woot.

Timeline: Post-movie FMA, late season two SG: A.

Chapter one:

"Honestly, Edward— you weren't _really _convinced that there were only _two worlds _just because of that silly little Gate, were you?" This world's Dante smirked in amusement, eyes that were not her own flashing bright white-gold. "Tsk, tsk— and you call yourself a _scientist_."

Edward scowled. "I study Alchemy, not cosmology. I don't need to know about 'other worlds' and 'dimensional anomalies'— or whatever it is that you insist brought me to this…whatever this place is."

Dante swiveled in her elaborate chair — really a throne more than anything else — and began to type something hastily on the control panel in front of her. "It wasn't so much of an anomaly being the _reason _you're here as it was the _means_ through which I was able to detain you," she stated without emotion.

"A means?" Edward asked with poorly hidden agitation. "To what end?" Had Dante been facing him, she would have seen his eyes alight with something dangerous. "And how do you know all of this, anyway? You aren't my Dante— you aren't even _human_."

Dante paused in her task and chuckled softly, saying, "Neither was the 'other' Dante— at least, not at the end of everything. I'm far truer to what she was— at least when _you_ met her— than any human could ever hope to be. I believe that is why her consciousness sought out mine rather than another counterpart through the Gate. And yes, the Gate _is _connected to more than one world, Edward.

"But to answer your second question: I have _your _Dante's memories because, in a very real sense, I _am _Dante. I paid for the transfer of these memories with Lyra's body, before Gluttony had the chance to kill me, of course. And as for your first question— I really don't have some grand scheme that you are to play a role in. Not like last time. Honestly, I was bored. I have the resources, I have the dimensional anomaly, and I find you…amusing. So here you are."

Although not particularly _happy _with Dante's answers, his curiosity had been placated to a point where he was no longer completely bewildered. But now, in its wake, he felt the familiar stirrings of rage deep in the pit of stomach— a bitter feeling that churned maliciously, rising to sting his throat like bile. And even deeper than that, a hatred that he had not even realized he had been harboring towards her was flaring to life.

"Amusement," he muttered, half to himself, willing his voice not to crack under the strain of keeping himself calm. "That's- that's the only reason why you brought me here?" Once again his eyes contained something dangerous, feral. He now did nothing to keep himself restrained. "**You brought me here for your own fucking AMUSEMENT!**"

She certainly found _this _reaction entertaining. "Yes," she said. "Amusement. You may have realized from our past encounters that my objective has never been to obtain political power. Ruling over a flock of mewling, dependent little primates does not hold even the remotest appeal to me. My objective has always been to further my lifespan, and now that I've achieved _that_,I have begun once again to pursue knowledge in all its forms.

"Be honored, Edward, for you have been chosen to further investigate the field of dimensional physics."

It was then that he lashed out, trying with all his might to wrap the fingers of his synthetic hand around Dante's throat. But instead of yielding, fragile human flesh, his hand was met with some kind invisible barrier that sent out white-hot sparks of energy.

He withdrew his hand quickly, gagging painfully on the overwhelming scent of burning rubber. When he examined the damage, he saw the synthetic skin around his fingertips had been melted completely away, leaving the metal underneath exposed and slightly discolored.

"You didn't expect me to just let you wonder around my ship freely, did you? Come now, Edward— your naiveté never ceases to amaze me."

Edward didn't answer, his prosthetic limb falling limply to his side. The anger was still there, but now it was just a tickle on the edge of his consciousness. He felt unbelievably weary of— of everything. And suddenly, all he wanted to do was curl up in a protective ball and fall asleep until all of this _bullshit_ was over.

He crawled over to the wall of his makeshift prison and slumped heavily against it. His eyes closed of their own accord, but sleep refused to come to him. Questions, unbidden, came roaring into his thoughts— insistent and swarming and so…_damn _annoying.

"What _are_ you, anyway?" he heard himself mumble to his captor.

She was typing again, and the amusement in her reply was almost palpable. "My species are called the 'Goa'uld'— a symbiotic race that currently uses humans as their hosts."

"As opposed to…?"

"Unas. Creatures that are — well — big, smelly and green. Quite disgusting, actually— it's no surprise that my ancestors switched over to humans."

Edward opened his eyes and looked at the transparent screen in front of both him and Dante. All there was to be seen was blackness and streaking lights. "Where are you taking me?"

"We're going to what the Tau'ri call the Pegasus Galaxy. You are riding the first trans-galactic cargo ship to ever be piloted by anybody in Goa'uld history. I'm really quite proud of it."

"Tau'ri?" Asked Edward in confusion.

"Earthlings."

The woman seemed to have forgotten that Edward came from another dimension. "…Earthlings?"

"People like you, Edward," she replied with mild exasperation.

"Oh," he said intelligently. "Why there?"

"Didn't I already say? You're going to be helping me in a fun little experiment!"

"How much longer till we get there, then? I'm hungry."

If it was possible, she sounded even more amused. "Oh, about twelve hours. You'll be eating—" she chortled softly for some reason, "—when you get there."

That certainly did not bode well with the boy, whose stomach rumbled loudly in protest. But his exhaustion won over, and he realized that he would not get any more answers (or food) out of Dante. He once again closed his eyes, and this time sleep claimed him swiftly.

* * *

"…_wakey, wakey Edward— it's time to get up."_

The diminutive alchemist groaned in protest to the soft, feminine voice cooing patronizingly in his left ear.

"_Come on, Edward; I have a surprise for you."_

Already he could feel the beginnings of a migraine, and his body ached everywhere from his awkward sleeping position.

He opened his eyes groggily to find Dante standing over him with an insufferable smirk on her face. "Ah, finally. I have somebody here who I would very much like you to meet."

As his vision cleared of its sleepy haze, he began to make out a figure that was eerily familiar. Yes— very, very familiar.

How could he not recognize the face he saw every day in the mirror?

But…something was not quite right. As his eyes adjusted even more to the light of his surroundings, he could make out that something about this stranger was decidedly different.

His skin was leathery and a sickly green. The nose was like his own, but the nostrils were ridged and flared and meshed oddly with the stranger's face. There were two identical, elliptical splits on either cheek.

This…'Edward'…was not human.

"Chi-chimera?" The boy fought down a sudden onslaught of nausea. He made to put his hand to his mouth to stop the reflex, but for some reason he could not move.

"No, not a chimera." Dante knelt down and traced a finger down the other Edward's face. He was unconscious. "A _Wraith_."

She stood up haughtily. "The Wraith are a very interesting species if I do say so myself. And it's more than fitting that your counterpart in this world should be one. Do you know how _they _eat, Edward?"

He glowered at her with all the malice he could muster. "Of course I don't."

She chuckled at his reply. "Well, I think somebody as _intelligent _as you could deduce it from my answer if they really wanted to find out. But you don't. _Of course _you don't."

Had he been able to, Edward would have turned his head to the side. But, paralyzed, he was stuck looking at her infuriating expression. Dante was obviously fully aware of this, and it only served to make it all the more humiliating.

She walked forward and knelt down once again, this time next to Edward, saying softly, "Very well. I guess I'll have to _tell_ you." The chuckle that he heard sent shivers clawing unnervingly up and down his spine. "_Humans_, Edward. They eat humans. They suck the life right out of them."

He found himself trembling. "I don't see how that makes it 'fitting'."

Dante arched an elegant brow. "Don't you? I imagine it would be quite obvious to _you_ of all people— knowing what you do about alchemy and the Gate."

She leaned in so close that he could feel her breath ghosting warmly against the shell of his ear. "Tell me, Edward," she whispered sensually. "How many human souls do you suppose you've sucked dry over your years of performing alchemy? Hundreds? Thousands? How many murders were committed to feed that power? How many wars were fought so that your darling mother could be turned into Sloth?"

By now, Edward's heart was beating painfully fast, his breathing labored and shallow. The realities of her accusations were hitting him harder than he would have liked.

She stood up once more, her sneering face cruel and mocking above him. "All those lives, all those souls— all of them were used to feed your hunger. All of them were used to slake your _need_ to defy the laws of nature, to selfishly cling to those who have been lost to you." She glanced back at the unconscious Wraith. "Yes," she said softly to herself. "Completely fitting."

Suddenly, her eyes flashed that odd white-gold once again. "I believe it is time to proceed with the experiment." She strode forward to the other Edward and reached into her coat, producing some kind of syringe. She stabbed it, perhaps with more fervor than necessary, into the Wraith's arm, who promptly stirred and opened his eyes.

Eyes that were gold like Edward's own, but they were…alien and strange— their pupils slit like a cat's. They were clouded and confused, much like Edward imagined his had been when he had first awoken. However, before this other Edward was able to achieve full awareness, he was grabbed roughly by the collar of his leather shirt. Dante then dragged him forward violently, until he was literally face to face with his counterpart.

"I have a theory," she stated happily. "It has to do with the reaction of two dimensional counterparts from vastly different realities. You see, if there aren't _enough_ differences between the two, there is absolutely no reaction at all. However, by adding just a few more differences between the counterparts, the result is entropic cascade failure. But I've always wondered what would happen if the differences were enormous. Would the opposite happen? Would the reaction between the two counterparts, rather than cause one of them to die, instead cause them to merge into one, single existence?"

The paralysis that Edward had been experiencing had increased exponentially. He was finding it ever more difficult to breath, and it felt as though his entire body was being ripped apart atom by atom. And then there was a blinding light and—

He is walking down the hall of the hive ship, responding to a call from

—Izumi-sensei—

the queen. He is to report back on the progress he had made with his research into better culling efficiency and—

_There is_

— Izumi-sensei_—_

_his queen snarling at him about his foolishness. How could he have let his companion_

—Al—

_do something so stupid like bring those Ukarian wildcats onto the hive ship? Didn't he know that they had nowhere to keep them and—_

"_Why do you keep rescuing these cats, Al? You know we have nowhere to keep them." Al's eyes burn a little dimmer and he doesn't know how Al does it but he manages to make the armor look sad and—_

_He's in Resembool playing hide-and-seek with Al and Winry behind the old wheat mill. There's lots of flowers and grass and there's a brook running next to an old, abandoned cottage. He finds Winry there and starts to chase her, and when he catches her they tumble to the ground. Winry scrapes her knee on the rocks and starts to cry and Al comes out to see what's wrong and— _

Edward shot up violently, sweat pouring copiously from his trembling form. His entire body felt as though it were on fire— his head pounded with such intensity he thought it might split in half. He groaned and lowered himself back down, and found that the new position served to lesser the pain to a large degree. Despite this improvement, however, his vision still swam nauseatingly, and he closed his eyes against the onslaught of senseless images and colors.

"Awake, I see," chimed a disgustingly self-satisfied voice from some unknown location. "Excellent. What is your name?"

He felt intense irritation lance throughout his being. What the hell was she playing at?

"You know my damn name," he growled. And he was rather surprised that it was in fact a genuine growl. His voice didn't sound like that, did it? No wait, he thought, it did. At least…a part of him thought it did.

"Do I?" she asked. "I repeat: What is your name?"

He tried to open his eyes again, and this time found that the room was, for the most part, in focus. Still, Dante was nowhere within his immediate range of vision.

"My name is Edward Elric," he stated, voice still holding the tinny, deep undertone that he knew had—

_always_

— never been there before. "You know that just as well as I do, Dante."

"Interesting…very interesting. It appears that the stronger aspects of the two personalities were fused together. The stronger body of the Wraith, and the stronger will of the human. I wonder though…" He heard footstep coming towards him, and soon he saw the familiar face of his captor looming over him. "…How many of the Wraith's memories are still intact."

Although it was not a question, Edward found himself answering without really thinking. It was as if he was answering his own questions rather than hers. "All of them…I think. I was — am — a Wraith. I can even hear the hive in my head like- like noise. But somehow those memories aren't as important as my real — no, not real…both sets are real…um — _other _ones. And…I'm _Edward_— I _know _I'm Edward." Yes, he was Edward, and all he wanted right now was—"Please, send me back home! I-I want to see Al again!"

He sounded exactly like he felt—feeble and confused. He could not even muster the emotional strength to put on his usual show of false bravado.

One of Dante's cruel little chuckles cut through him like a knife. "Oh, I'm not so sure you want me to do that, Edward. You and I both know what would happen the moment you saw your dear, _human _little brother." Another laugh. "Even now you feel it, don't you? The _hunger_. It's painful, isn't it? You would have tried to feed on me already, had you been able to move. Your memories are intact— you know how easily Wraith are overcome by their instincts. Oh, I can just imagine it now: poor, sweet little Al, writhing in agony as his beloved brother feeds off of his life force. I know that you can imagine it too, though I doubt it amuses you nearly as much as it amuses me."

His stomach clenched painfully at the truth of her words. The hunger was there — insistent and invasive — begging for…for…he didn't want to think about it.

Her smirk widened slightly and she stepped back. She then reached into her coat and fiddled with something inside it. "Oh—and I wouldn't try to feed on me if I were you. There's a force field surrounding you about a meter on all sides, which I activated, oh, about seven seconds ago."

"Please…make me human again." He couldn't believe that he was begging like this, but the desperation of his situation was overwhelming. "I-I'll do anything! Just please…make me human again."

Dante sighed and shook her head in mock sympathy. "As tempting as the offer sounds, I'm afraid that I couldn't make you human even if I wanted to. However, I'm willing to bet that there is _somebody _in this galaxy who _is_." She put her hand to her chin in what may have been genuine thought. "How about I make you a deal? I will release you and give you six Earth months to make yourself human again."

Edward couldn't believe his ears. "Really?"

"Yes, " she said. "**But**, I will send you back to your 'home' dimension at the end of the six months _regardless _of whether or not you are human."

Cold dread began to twist at his insides. Somehow, though, he managed to sound calm when he asked, "Dante…somehow I can't believe that you went to all this trouble for the sake of _entertainment_—what was your real reason for bringing me here?"

"My _real _reason? Oh, I thought you would have figured that already." Her eyes flashed again, and when she spoke next it was in a strange, dual-toned voice. "My real reason…is _revenge_."

(To be continued…)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own neither Stargate: Atlantis or Fullmetal Alchemist.

A/N: I'm SO sorry for not updating in so long. Writer's block is a bitch. Unfortunately there isn't much action in this chapter, because Edward is...incapacitated, so to speak. That, and he's still coming to grips with what's happened to him. I hope it is enjoyable, anyway.

Chapter Two

* * *

Edward awoke in a state of delirious confusion, aware of only two things: A pain on his right side that was awfully familiar, and an intense _hunger_ that made him want to curl up and die.

He could make out a voice coming from somewhere above him, but he could only understand snippets of what it was saying.

"...Never seen anything like it..."

Something wet was dabbed across his forehead.

"..refused to hurt you! Cut off..."

His head was lifted, and water was poured into his slightly open mouth.

"...deserve to die. He has...humanity..."

His senses were beginning to sharpen, even through the pain of his current state. He could make out a face now. Human, and ever, ever so familiar.

"N..." It was on the tip of his tongue, and he fought through his weakness in order to fully express it. "N..."

"It looks like it's trying to say something," said another voice from further away.

Yet more water was poured down his throat, and he felt even more of his awareness return. He was in a tent of some kind, and there was a wet rag on his forehead. The one who had placed it there was somebody he knew.

"No...a..." He heard two simultanious gasps of surprise.

"Did it just--?"

"He did. Do you know me, Wraith?"

He didn't have the strength to give them a full response, so instead he said the name once more.

"Noa." There.

A pause. A second voice spoke. "It knows your true name, Wise One. How can this be so?"

Edward's head was beginning to clear even more, though now the pain was becoming even more prominent at the forefront of his consciousness. He wanted to warn the woman in front of him to get away. To run as far and as fast as she possibly could. His body was telling him that she was food, and he didn't want her to die. He didn't want to murder her.

"Run," he said, his natural rasp accentuated by his weakness and pain. "Run away, before I-- before you get hurt."

She did not move, though a look of fascination had spread across her face. "Truly remarkable. Never, not even in my visions, have I ever encountered a Wraith with concern for the well-being of humans." She looked into his eyes. "Aren't you afraid to die, Wraith?"

"I am," said Edward honestly.

"Then why do you sacrifice your life for our sake?"

"Because..." Edward paused to think for a moment, not quite sure how to express his thoughts correctly. "Because I...was human once. I can't see humans as just f-food anymore."

"Oh?" asked Noa, intrigued. "What do you see now?"

He wished she would run. "Mothers, brothers, friends...people who would be missed by those who love them." _Run. Please, please run._

"You seem worried that you will harm me."

"Damnit...why aren't you running?" That confirmed her suspicions well enough.

"It appears that it does not remember, Wise One."

"Yes," she replied. "It appears he does not."

She leaned over him, and Edward felt his reflexes kicking in without his consent. His right arm made to grip at her throat, and he closed his eyes so he would not have to see the look of horror in her eyes as he drained the life out of her.

But nothing came. No screams. No horror. No feeling of sickening satisfaction. Just the same over-powering hunger remained.

He realized with a jolt that his right arm was missing.

Noa was still leaning over him, her eyes filled with a wisdom that made her seem older than her appearance. "You needn't worry, Wraith. Your feeding arm is gone." She put a hand to his forehead and closed her eyes-- a gesture that reminded Edward of his own Noa. "You have very interesting dreams. Some of the most interesting I have ever seen."

"Wise One...?" The other presence in the tent seemed to be uncertain.

"Ease yourself, Ha'ria. It will take several days for his arm to grow back." She turned her attention back to Edward. "I know that you spoke the truth before, when you said that you have lived as a human. Your dreams have told me as much. But yet..." She frowned slightly. "How is it that you have two sets of memories, Wraith?"

"It's a long story."

"I do not believe that you are going anywhere."

He heard movement coming from Ha'ria. She was leaving. He noticed a subtle shift in Noa's expression, as though she were more at ease. It confused him. Was she honestly more comfortable with him, a life-sucking beast, than with another human? No, no. He must have read her face incorrectly.

"Why haven't you killed me, yet? I'm--" He swallowed thickly. "I'm a monster."

Her eyes softened, and his heart ached at the sight. "You deserve a chance at redemption, Edward. And _I_ deserve one as well."

Edward frowned. What could she mean by that? And how did she know his name?

"There is something interesting that happens to those...'gifted' with the Sight. Other possibilities are more than just meaningless fantasies to us. Speculations, dreams-- we are aware that all of these things are realities. If not here, then somewhere else. Somewhere that we perhaps are unable to reach. Do you understand?"

"...No."

She brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes. "The Noa I saw in your dreams-- she and I share a connection. I experienced many of your memories through _her_. I feel...responsible-- for many of your hardships."

"She--she just wanted a homeland. And those Nazi's probably would have killed her if she hadn't helped them. "

"That does not excuse it."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I thought that I did."

"You didn't. Not really."

"Why haven't I killed you yet? Hmm..." She looked at him thoughtfully. "How about, seeing as you do not remember, I _show _you my reasons."

Those words made him feel distinctly uneasy. "What do you--"

He was cut off when she placed her hand to his forehead, and suddenly the world around him faded into nothingness. And then--

_The forest was thick and stifling around him, and he was acutely aware of every sound. It was overwhelming to his sensitive ears. He had never felt so claustrophobic in his entire life. He felt as though he was drowning in the noise._

_But he could not stop._

_He was _hungry.

_Suddenly, his body stiffened in anticipation. He could smell a human close by._

_The hunger throbbed insistently._

_He ran._

Edward's eyes snapped open violently, his chest heaving and his body trembling

"Stop it!" He yelled, not bothering to contain his growing panic. It was too much, too soon. He wasn't ready to face the reality of what he was.

Noa gazed down at him calmly. "You have yet to see the rest."

"I don't care!"

She frowned slightly. "Do you _want _me to kill you?"

"No," said Edward through gritted teeth.

"Well, what _do _you want?"

Edward growled softly in annoyance. "You're a mind reader, right? You should know."

"I can only see memories."

"So then you should know that--"

"--You wish to become human. Yes. But that's not all, is it?"

He could feel her her gaze like it was something tangible-- a brand that made his skin itch and teeth knash together. Some detached, objective part of him observed that he was allowing his hunger to get the better of him. But _damnit_-- this Nao-who-was-not-Noa had absolutely no idea...no _right_--

"It is only natural that you should feel some conflict, you know. Having two sets of memories is not something that can be easily dealt with."

There she went again. "I have no idea of what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

Edward did not respond this time, choosing instead to glare at the top of the tent. The truth was, somewhere inside of him, he _did _know what she was talking about. Because-- in spite of the fact that his experiences as Edward Elric were at the forefront of his consciousness --he still felt an attachment to his life in _this_ universe. Perhaps it wasn't as strong as his attachment to his human life, but it was most definitely present. Now that he was starting to get over the shock of what Dante had done to him he could recognize that.

It was a difficult thing to deal with, to say the least. One part of him, the stronger part of him, was telling him how utterly disgusting and objectionable it was to subsist off of human life. But there was yet another part, a smaller part, that was saying 'so what?'. It was not like he had _chosen _to be born this way. Feeding off of humans was no more or less disgusting than feeding off of cattle. Sometimes, he would remember the image of the dead insect being fed upon by ants on that Island with Al, and he would tell himself that nature would inevitably run its course. And it was _his _nature to feed on humans. Who was he to deny it?

_I'm such a hypocrite. I can use the philosophers stone-- an item created from hundreds of thousands of human lives-- to restore a couple of my limbs, but I won't kill a few dozen humans to keep myself alive? _

But, worst of all, was the knowledge that both sides of him, however much he disliked it, were _him_. It was not some phantom, some specter, that was possessing his body. It was _him_. And any decision he made was ultimately going to rest on his shoulders.

"I think that it is important to see the rest of your memory."

He didn't want to. He said nothing.

"You will not have to face anything horrifying, I swear it."

That wasn't true. One way or the other, he was going to have to become something that he didn't want to become.

"Running from reality will not change it."

Hah! Showed how much _she_ knew.

"Perhaps I should just kill you now and put you out of your misery."

He knew from the cold, matter-of-fact tone of her voice that she was being completely serious. He sighed. "Fine."

She touched his forehead once again.


End file.
